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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTFOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDAPENSACOLA DIVISION
STATE OF FLORIDA, by and throughAttorney General Pam Bondi, et al.;Plaintiffs,v.Case No.: 3:10-cv-91-RV/EMTUNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OFHEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, et al.,Defendants.____________________________________/
ORDER GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed health care reform legislation:“The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.” Pub. L. No. 111-148, 124 Stat.119 (2010), as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of2010, Pub. L. No. 111-152, 124 Stat. 1029 (2010) (the “Act”).This case, challenging the Constitutionality of the Act, was filed minutesafter the President signed. It has been brought by the Attorneys General and/orGovernors of twenty-six states (the “state plaintiffs”)
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; two private citizens (the“individual plaintiffs”); and the National Federation of Independent Business(“NFIB”) (collectively, the “plaintiffs”). The defendants are the United StatesDepartment of Health and Human Services, the Department of Treasury, theDepartment of Labor, and their secretaries (collectively, the “defendants”). Iemphasized once before, but it bears repeating again: this case is not about
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The states are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho,Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada,North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah,Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
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whether the Act is wise or unwise legislation, or whether it will solve or exacerbatethe myriad problems in our health care system. In fact, it is not really about ourhealth care system at all. It is principally about our federalist system, and it raisesvery important issues regarding the Constitutional role of the federal government.James Madison, the chief architect of our federalist system, once famouslyobserved:If men were angels, no government would be necessary.If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internalcontrols on government would be necessary. In framing agovernment which is to be administered by men overmen, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enablethe government to control the governed; and in the nextplace oblige it to control itself.The Federalist No. 51, at 348 (N.Y. Heritage Press ed., 1945) (“The Federalist”).
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In establishing our government, the Founders endeavored to resolve Madison’sidentified “great difficulty” by creating a system of dual sovereignty under which“[t]he powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal governmentare few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments arenumerous and indefinite.” The Federalist No. 45, at 311 (Madison); see also U.S.Const. art. I, § 1 (setting forth the specific legislative powers “herein granted” toCongress). When the Bill of Rights was later added to the Constitution in 1791, theTenth Amendment reaffirmed that relationship: “The powers not delegated to theUnited States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to
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The Federalist consists of 85 articles or essays written by James Madison,Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay, advocating for ratification of the Constitution.“The opinion of the Federalist has always been considered as of great authority. Itis a complete commentary on our constitution; and is appealed to by all parties inthe questions to which that instrument has given birth. Its intrinsic merit entitles itto this high rank.” Cohens v. Virginia, 19 U.S. (6 Wheat) 264, 418, 5 L. Ed. 257(1821) (Marshall, C.J.). It will be cited to, and relied on, several times throughoutthe course of this opinion.
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the States respectively, or to the people.”The Framers believed that limiting federal power, and allowing the “residual”power to remain in the hands of the states (and of the people), would help “ensureprotection of our fundamental liberties” and “reduce the risk of tyranny and abuse.”See Gregory v. Ashcroft, 501 U.S. 452, 458, 111 S. Ct. 2395, 115 L. Ed. 2d 410(1991) (citation omitted). Very early, the great Chief Justice John Marshall noted“that those limits may not be mistaken, or forgotten, the constitution is written.”Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137, 176, 2 L. Ed. 60 (1803). Over twocenturies later, this delicate balancing act continues. Rather than being the merehistoric relic of a bygone era, the principle behind a central government with limitedpower has “never been more relevant than in this day, when accretion, if not actualaccession, of power to the federal government seems not only unavoidable, buteven expedient.” Brzonkala v. Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 169 F.3d 820, 826 (4
th
Cir. 1999) (en banc), aff’d sub nom, United States v. Morrison, 529 U.S. 598, 120S. Ct. 1740, 146 L. Ed. 2d 658 (2000).
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To say that the federal government has limited and enumerated power doesnot get one far, however, for that statement is a long-recognized and well-settled
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In United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549, 115 S. Ct. 1624, 131 L. Ed. 2d626 (1995), a watershed decision that will be discussed infra, the Supreme Courtbegan its analysis by referring to these limits on federal power as “first principles.”In a manner of speaking, they may be said to be “last principles” as well, for theLopez Court deemed them to be so important that it also ended its opinion with afull discussion of them. See id. at 567-68. Shortly thereafter, in United States v.Morrison, 529 U.S. 598, 120 S. Ct. 1740, 146 L. Ed. 2d 658 (2000), which willalso be discussed infra, the Supreme Court referred to the division of authority andlimits on federal power as the “central principle of our constitutional system.” Seeid. at 616 n.7. Clearly, if the modern Supreme Court regards the limits of federalpower as first, central, and last principles, those principles are profoundly important--- even in this day and age --- and they must be treated accordingly in deciding thiscase.
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